Introduction
Klara and the Sun is a novel written by Kazuo Ishiguro. The novel explores the themes of desire, longing, and pursuing things. In the book, a strangely familiar near future, artificial intelligence has overturned the social order, transforming work and human relationships all at once (Ishiguro, 2021). Intelligent machines toil in place of office workers and serve artificial friends as dutiful companions. These enhanced or lifted humans created a social schism, dividing people into an elite class and an underclass of the unmodified, who were relegated to a state of reluctant idleness.
The novel develops themes that recur in the author’s previous work, including loss, regret, sacrifice, and a longing for a sense of reality. However, technology takes a prime role, and the author Ishiguro uses biological and mechanized artificial intelligence to reflect on what it is to be. In modern society, there is a significant focus on artificial intelligence and its influence on industrial operations, aiming to provide sustainable and improved lives.
Portrayal of Social Issues in the Novel
Faith Versus Rationality
In the novel, several changes or transformations reflect the current issues in our society today, as discussed below. The novel explores the theme of faith versus rationality, where the mother refuses to accept a copy of Josie. However, Mr. Capaldi urges her that she does not need faith, only rationality. Human beings are believed to operate based on logic and reason. Therefore, some have seen no reason to accept what science tells them, even if it is true. In the novel, Josie’s parents deny and reject her being unique (Ishiguro, 2021). However, in the current society, people have come to believe and strengthen their faith that there is something greater beyond their understanding that drives them to strive for greatness.
Loyalty and Attachment
Another transformation is the sense of observation that Klara is keen on using her diverse, unique qualities. Klara observes and learns from every activity involved. The current society is reflected in the novel as depicted by Klara. She observes that many artificial friends get chosen even before Josie finally picks her.
Another child almost chooses her, but she waits for Josie. As stated by Ishiguro (2021), this is reflected in the current society, where many people are keen and observant when engaging in activities to learn new skills or see what will happen next. Being keen makes people have good character and avoid making mistakes.
Focus on Intelligence
In the novel, one of the most essential futuristic concepts is a process called lifting. It refers to a procedure that parents perform on their children at a young age, purportedly to increase their intelligence. In the novel, Josie contracts a grave due to being lifted and nearly dies from it. Although Josie tells her mum that she does not regret being lifted, the benefits are unclear, as her neighbor, Rich, is also very intelligent, despite being un-lifted (Ishiguro, 2021). In today’s society, the future of technology has placed a greater emphasis on artificial intelligence as a means of enhancing operational efficiency. However, like in the novel, lifting comes with benefits and serious setbacks when not properly planned or designed.
Loneliness
Loneliness and relationships are themes expressed in the novel that are reflected in contemporary society. In the novel, as Klara navigates human society and observes more intimate human relationships, she develops a particular interest in the intricate mechanics of loneliness. Klara reflects on Chrissie’s unpredictable behavior: “What was becoming clear to me was the extent to which humans, in their wish to escape loneliness, made maneuvers that were very complex and hard to fathom”(Ishiguro, 2021). This is a common phenomenon in our society today, where many people experience loneliness, often due to a lack of meaningful human connections. With the introduction of artificial friends, many people have perceived that they avoid a sense of loneliness compared to when they have humans.
Love
Furthermore, the novel examines love from various perspectives and whether love is a strictly human experience. Something special about human-like Josie makes them irreplaceable to those who love them. Creating a robotic clone evokes a sense of love. In modern society, when a loved one dies, they are irreplaceable, which reflects the depth of the love felt. It also celebrates the deep human experience of being in love and the meaning of love.
Environmentalism
The current society has focused on technology that conserves the environment and reduces the effects of global warming. Similarly, in Klara and the Sun, the theme of environmentalism is present, as exemplified by Klara, who is a robot made of artificial materials. She gets nourishment from nature.
Even though Klara is a product of industrial human society, she comes to appreciate nature more than many of the humans around her (Ishiguro, 2021). In today’s society, ordinary people have become accustomed to ideas that, from the outside, seem intolerable. People are also happier when things that destroy our environment are destroyed.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Klara and the Sun are good predictors of society’s current focus on the digital future and present. Modern society’s quest for human loneliness and insecurity in a world struggling with a new comprehension of technological interventions, changes, and mortality. The novel Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro explores numerous themes that reveal the ideologies of struggling individuals in the modern age and how the digital age affects people’s emotions.
The novel reflects patterns of changing the universe while discovering the true sense of love. The author employs a fictional science lens to explain how human beings interact and connect, and also attempts to evaluate people’s emotional behaviors, isolation, and loneliness. In doing so, the author sheds light on the diverse layers of the current societal composition of individual lives across various segments of society.
It is also revealed that the current psychological world being created is ironically ill-prepared by people. Creating robots like Klara that are emotionally powerful, while acknowledging sentiments like technology being just a tool, denies the impact of these creations on humans as individuals and on their culture. Technology has changed human interrelations and identities, as demonstrated in the novel.
The primary concern in modern society has been the impact of technology on people’s lives. However, artificial intelligence designers, who refer to robots as just tools, raise ethical concerns and questions about why users perceive them as carriers of emotions and meaning. In the novel, robots have been developed to provide emotions, relationships, and companionship to people, a concept that has been actualized in present-day society through artificial intelligence. Computers have been designed to do immense work beyond human capabilities, posing the question of what the future will be like as more autonomous machines are being developed daily.
Reference
Ishiguro, K. (2021). Klara and the Sun: A novel. Vintage.